3rd double-decker tour route served in 8 foreign languages

A new double-decker sightseeing bus route to take tourists from Lujiazui to the Expo Park will open in April, with Shanghai's iconic Oriental Pearl TV Tower and the Saudi Arabia Pavilion set as a couple of the highlights on the 30 yuan ($4.70)-tour.

The 90-minute trip will also take tourists past the Shanghai World Financial Center and Shanghai Ocean Aquarium, said authorities, differing in course from the city's two other sightseeing bus routes, which have since 2010 been bringing visitors from People's Square to the Bund, Yuyuan Garden and Xintiandi; and to Oriental Pearl TV Tower and Jin Mao Tower, respectively.

"The three routes will now cover a total of 30 tourist attractions in the downtown core," Wang Yongqing, manager of the State-run Shanghai Spring Group, which manages the city's sightseeing tour bus company.

Six double-decker buses, an investment of 1.3 million yuan a piece, will be set aside for the third route, triple the number of coach buses used for the city's sightseeing route No.2 and slightly less than the eight double-deckers used for route No.1, said Wang.

"Given that foreign tourists accounted for 20 percent of our 830,000 visitors that chose to tour the city via our tour buses, in addition to providing commentary in Putonghua, the third route, like the others, will also have services in eight foreign languages, including English, French and German," he added.

Interest in the city's bus tours from foreign tourists also appears to be growing, with a record 40 percent of this year's Spring Festival holiday visitors comprising people from overseas, said Wang.

Tickets for the city's route No.1 and route No.2 bus tours can be bought via local travel agencies, at any bus stop along the routes; the passes remain valid up to six months after purchase, or for a 24-hour period after use.